Field
This disclosure generally relates to tank covers for covering a diesel exhaust fluid (DEF) tank.
Description of the Related Art
To ensure full combustion of soot, and to prevent the exhaust of unburnt fuel, diesel engines can be run with a lean burn air-to-fuel ratio, meaning that an excess of air can be used in an internal combustion engine. However, as a consequence the excess air can lead to the generation of mono-nitrogen oxides (NOx) which can be harmful to the environment, such as through the generation of acid rain. Accordingly, many diesel engines are equipped with diesel exhaust fluid which can minimize or eliminate harmful emissions such as NOx.
Diesel exhaust fluid is typically formed from an aqueous urea solution made by mixing together urea and deionized water. The mixture is generally formed in a 1:3 ratio. The diesel exhaust fluid can be used as a consumable in a selective catalytic reaction in order to reduce certain harmful emissions, such as NOx.
Typically, diesel exhaust fluid is stored in a tank separate from the diesel fuel and injected into the exhaust pipeline of the vehicle. The diesel exhaust fluid vaporizes and decomposes to form ammonia and carbon dioxide, and the ammonia can react to NOx to form harmless water and nitrogen. As the tank can be exposed to the environment outside of the vehicle itself, many diesel exhaust fluid tanks have a cover to prevent damage and general wear and tear to the tank. Many of these tanks are installed by the car manufacturers themselves.
FIG. 1 illustrates a DEF tank cover 3000 known in the art, typically used as a replacement cover to replace a factory cover. The cover 3000 can be attached to a vehicle at an inboard and outboard side. For the inboard side, inboard mounting tabs 3001 can be used. For the outboard side, a pair of extension members 3002 extend inboard from a back wall of the cover 3000. In order to install this cover 3000, a user would need to drill into the frame of vehicle at the apertures 3004 in the extension members 3002 to apply a bolt or screw to connect the cover 3000 to the vehicle frame. However, this can lead to significant problems for a user such as drilling in the wrong location or accidently damaging portions of the frame through the drilling. Further, the additional step of drilling into the frame requires more tools.